Review of Fitzcarraldo (1982) by Guy G — 09 Jul 2011
[100/A+] A movie that, in reality, seems to have been born out of the same visionary obsession and crazy determination wielded by its own title character, played with controlled panic by Kinski.
It is a little scary to behold director Herzog's stunning hubris as Fitzcarraldo floats into, not a heart of darkness, but a mad dream of operatic extravagance and surrealistic power, refusing to be denied by the unbelief of authorities nor by the great primordial forested earth.
Not surprisingly, Fitzcarraldo's grand deluded enthusiasms don't exactly go as hoped for, and the unstoppable man of vision, moving mountains in pursuit of his holy grail, suffers a kind of cosmic backlash.
Even then, brought back down to earth, and crushed with disappointment, Fitzcarraldo refuses to give in, and with the final act he still manages to conjure up an empyrean moment of gratitude upon the brown Amazonian waters, leaving us touched at our own undeniable indebtedness to the sublimity of dreams.
This review of Fitzcarraldo (1982) was written by Guy G on 09 Jul 2011.
Fitzcarraldo has generally received very positive reviews.
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